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You are now a donor before you're born

In the Netherlands, the parliament accepted a new law, making every Dutch person an organ donor, unless they opt out.

That's bad, and here's why.

Let's start with what it means for unborn babies. They are organ donors the moment they're grown enough to live outside the womb (and possibly even before that). A baby, with no conscious knowing of what organ donation means, is a donor. It's organs are owned by the government and hospitals already.

Yes, owned. Literally owned. The organs are claimable, without anybodies interference. A persons most private possession, it's body and what is in it, is not owned by itself anymore from the start.

To not be a donor, one now needs to opt-out. This is against all privacy rulings. I am me, my body is mine. It is not yours to take, it is mine to give.

But, being a donor is good! You safe other people's lives with it!

Yes, but still, this law is wrong.

The current law states, one can opt-in to be a donor. Meaning, it is your own choice to be a donor.

Now, one has to opt-out.

What are the implications?

First of all, opt-in used to be some form of check next to someone's name. "This person is a donor, that's so awesome!". You know those newsletters that try to guilt trick you into not opting out? Exactly that, but on a massive, social scale, opting out has become a negative, where opting in used to be a positive. Peer pressure etc. will cause people to stay a donor, or opt in, because of shame.

The social scenario is already showing on Twitter. Suddenly, there's a lot of shaming towards people that do not want to be a donor. This was never an issue before.

Not opting out, or opting back in out of shame. It will create a culture of shaming and people feeling miserable about their choice.

Yes, the lack of organ donors is an issue. But breaking through the privacy wall and just say "you're a donor now, screw you" is a bad option. All the money put into this law, could as well have been put in a country-wide campaign explaining why being a donor is a good thing.

A government should not demand your privacy, they should ask for it.

All in all, this forced donorship is a bad thing. And how did it happen? Because a 75 vs. 74 vote. Where was that last one, to complete the 150 MP's in the Dutch parliament?

Ok, so, I haven't posted here much now, have I? So I might as well do it now, just because. Here goes! The good things, the bad things, the evil things. The evil things are cats btw: She was hanging in my hands, with her nails and biting a lot!...